FIFA 21 free next-gen upgrade detailed for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S

EA Sports have confirmed when footie fans will be able to download FIFA 21 on next-gen consoles. The release date for FIFA 21 on both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S has been confirmed for December 4th, the studio sharing some more details on what to expect from this upcoming version of their latest soccer sequel.

Up top, we have the game’s visuals. FIFA 21 will be running at 60 FPS in 4K resolution on Sony and Microsoft’s new hardware, EA have confirmed. The extra muscle packed into these machines means that player models, textures, and lighting will be the best the FIFA series has ever seen. Player haircuts, muscle definition, and ball compression have even been given an upgrade thanks to new engine tech. Other exclusive features include a new in-game camera angle and heavily revised animations both on and off the ball.

Anyone who currently owns a copy of FIFA 21 on PS4 and Xbox One will be able to upgrade for free, up until the release of FIFA 22. Something fans may want to consider is that there is no cross-gen online play, meaning PS5 users won’t be matched against those running FIFA 21 on PS4. However, the FUT transfer market will allow cross-gen integration, with players also able to carry their FUT and Volta progress back and forth across generations if they so choose.

Some extra bonus features for those playing on PS5 include DualSense haptic feedback, making rumble more defined and context-aware. Activity cards are also enabled via the PS5 home menu, allowing you to dip into game modes without trawling through FIFA 21’s start-up screens.

Aran reviewed FIFA 21 on PlayStation 4 back when it launched last month, scoring the game a solid 8 out of 10, praising its mix of game modes and attacking gameplay. Here are his closing thoughts:

On the pitch, FIFA 21 is an incremental improvement over FIFA 20, but doesn’t address some of the biggest issues with defending and the high-scoring matches this leads to. With Volta still missing a certain spark and Ultimate Team not really changing much, it’s the Football Manager-inspired Career mode that takes the biggest step forward. It’s still a good football game, but it feels like the real focus is on next-gen.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.